Re: the increase in suicides in the USA. I think there are factors in play such

[applegrove]

as the GOP morphing the religious into peddlers of wedge issues instead of them focusing on love morning noon and night. Also doing away with the adage that politics stops at the border has taken away the GOP base's enjoyment of presidential success in Foreign policy. Russian is isolated, Iran came to the table, Cuba will soon be a freer country, bin Laden is dead, etc. All are successes the average American would have taken pride in in the past. I'm sure the foreign policy attacks were to keep the base from enjoying and connecting to somebody Africa American in President Obama. Talk radio has made people hatefull and narcissistic in their relationship to the greater world. I'm sure there are many more ways the GOP has artificially isolated the white men who are killing themselves at increased numbers. Humans need to connect in an organic way to be fulfilled. Please feel free add to the list of artificial GOP isolation.

[Spider Jerusalem]

1. Nah, it's the shitty economy and the lack of employment opportunity for middle-aged men...

who lose their jobs and can't find new ones (and suddenly feel useless and unmanned because American society ties so much of men's identity up in work and the idea of being a "good provider" etc).

[Recursion]

3. Low-income whites are the one group that didn't benefit economically from the past 20 years

It's odd: a white male with a high school diploma still makes more than a black woman with a bachelor's degree, on average, but the white male's income has gone down over the past twenty years while the black woman's income has gone up significantly.

[Fumesucker]

4. Someone is still smarting I think...

I cropped this out of a screenshot of GD the other day and posted it.

[Fumesucker]

2. Turning sucide into an explicitly political issue seems less than entirely prudent or even kind

[applegrove]

5. It definitely is an issue of power, or lack thereof and isolation. Look

Last edited Mon Apr 25, 2016, 02:33 AM - Edit history (1)

at the teen suicide rate in indigenous communities in Canada's north. Should politicians and those who discuss power not look into the reasons why the high rates? There is a book called 'A Fine Balance' by Rohinton Misery that goes into suicide vs. connection. It is a novel that takes place in India. It points out that economic opportunity isn't more important than how one connects to the world. Economics is hugely important. I wanted to point out the connectivity side of suicide. Or lack thereof.

[Fumesucker]

6. When your role is almost entirely economic and that role disappears there's not much left

People are smart enough to know when they are no longer wanted or needed, if you can no longer bring home the bacon you might as well jump in the pan.

Those of us who develop other interests besides sheer self aggrandizement are a bit better off, there's something to turn to when self aggrandizement no longer yields appreciable benefits.

Lots of things remind me of songs and lyrics these days..


Isolation rows and rows of cars

Isolation like Jupiter and Mars

[applegrove]

9. I think the length of the recession was a GOP plan no? They stopped Obama at every turn. All so that

there would not be huge upward pressure on wages when the boomers retire. They needed a fat load of juicy unemployed within the USA to fill retirees places. And it worked.

[Sherman A1]

7. Politics is perhaps part of the equation, however

I believe it to be mostly economics that is the driver for this and much of the nation's other ills. There is never just one answer, but I think it's mostly about good paying jobs and a chance to provide for oneself and one's family.

[dembotoz]

8. a friend of mine retired 2 weeks ago and promptly had a stroke...she now faces heart surgery

lucky for her is that she had assets up the ying yang and fairly good insurance--not quite old enuf for medicare.
she does wonder how much this will cost her and if the reduction of assets will adversely affect her retired standard of living.


if it had been me, this would put me under financially and would have me reaching for a gun as a stop loss measure

[Egnever]

10. I am going to blame it on Facebook

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-perpetua-neo/does-facebook-make-you-de_b_8474654.html

The more we use Facebook, the likelier we’ll feel depressed and/or unhappy- if we compare. Our brains fill in the blanks from snippets of someone’s life, based on their highlight reel. At the same time, we’re so caught up in our mundaneness and what’s lacking in our lives, it’s hard not to feel bad about ourselves- more so when we’re feeling vulnerable from depression. When our friends live-feed their holiday, their whole day seems wicked. Multiply this by a 300+-size friends list, and we’ll see at least two blow-by-blow holiday fun each month. The whole world always seems to have fun.